"Flickers" of Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah present in Libya rebel forces, NATO says

PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO's top commander said on March 29 intelligence reporting on Libya's rebel forces has shown "flickers" of an Al-Qaeda or Hezbollah presence but opposition leaders appear "responsible."

Admiral James Stavridis, speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the alliance was working to get a clearer picture of the rebels and the key "personalities" waging war against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's troops, AFP reported. Stavridis referred to fleeting signs that Al-Qaeda or other Islamist militants could be fighting with the rebels.

"We have seen flickers in the intelligence of potential Al Qaeda, Hezbollah. We've seen different things. "At this point, I don't have detail sufficient to say that there's a significant Al-Qaeda presence or any other terrorist presence in and among" (rebel forces), Stavridis said.

But NATO's supreme allied commander said he was encouraged by intelligence reports on the rebel leadership. The alliance was "examining very closely the content, composition, the personalities, who are the leaders in these opposition forces," he said.

"The intelligence that I'm receiving at this point makes me feel that the leadership that I'm seeing are responsible men and women who are struggling against Colonel Gaddafi," he said.

Gaddafi has frequently invoked Al-Qaeda's network in a bid designed to discourage Western support for the rebels. Al-Qaeda militant Abu Yahya al-Libi, himself a Libyan whose whereabouts are unknown, has urged on the rebellion against Gaddafi, and Al-Qaeda in North Africa has vowed to do everything in its power to help, according to spacewar.com.